Agency AEM helps group make charitable impact

With San Antonio’s economic health buoyed by Mexican nationals and their business investments, a local organization has been quietly helping to nourish and guide this blossoming segment of the community.

Known as La Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos (AEM), it loosely translates into the Mexican Business Owners Association, commonly referred to as Empresarios.

Founded here in 1996 with more than 300 members, the Empresarios are charged with supporting Mexican entrepreneurs to successfully venture into the U.S. Now, gaining recognition for the role they play in commerce, they intend to create awareness of the charitable impact they make. To do that, the group hired San Antonio-based agency RMG Partners to help brand them accordingly.

RMG founder Ruth M. Gonzales-Medellin, with more than 25 years experience as a community advocate and marketer, sees AEM as a “bridge to success” and is passionate about connecting the resources that AEM brings to San Antonio with efforts that would benefit from the Empresarios’ support.

Led by Event Chair Patricia Pliego Stout of The Alamo Travel Group Inc. and AEM Chairman Eduardo Bravo, CEO of Ediciones Supcorp, the event will honor UTSA’s Harriet and Ricardo Romo and benefit the San Antonio housing nonprofit, American Sunrise.

“There are a large number of Mexicans who continue to move to the United States due to safety concerns stemming from the drug cartel violence,” she says. “AEM and the Empresarios help position San Antonio as a safe place for Mexicans to enter the U.S. business market. They provide a resource; friends who show how and who can help in business. And because they are grateful, and this is home, they want to give back. AEM helps here as well.”

Gonzalez-Medellin says that forging bonds between the strengths of entities creates deeper opportunities for everyone.

“Not only do the Empresarios provide a business atmosphere for dialogue and networking, they have a goal of developing business relationships and friendships between members and the local community,” adds Gonzales-Medellin.”

For more information on AEM or the gala, go to www.aem-usa.org, or rmgpartners.com

esd and associates

Have a hankering for a thin mint or a trefoil? It’s Girl Scout cookie time and San Antonio-based digital creative agency, esd and associates are biting into the challenge in a big way. According to esd’s Gina Galaviz, the agency purchased the first 1,000 boxes to help meet 14-year-old Hannah Richmond’s 2012 cookie goal of 10,000 boxes. Richmond earned the title of Top Cookie Entrepreneur Officer in 2011 for selling 3,258 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

Richmond landed the marketing savvy of esd and associates after a cold call letter landed on the desk of agency President Christine Kleha. “I get so many solicitation letters that I can’t possibly respond to all of them,” says Kleha. “But, Hannah’s stood out. This is a 14-year-old girl who is learning valuable leadership skills from the Girls Scouts of America and then is applying these in our community.”

Kleha says that the esd and associates decided to help Hannah, because their efforts would effect change locally.

“Plus all the money stays here,” Kleha says. “This organization really does teach young women the leadership skills that are so critical for future career success. We challenge other businesses to do the same to help these future leaders in the making. It’s a win-win situation, it’s for the Girl Scouts and our troops.”

The Atkins Group

The adage of walking a mile in another person’s shoes certainly applies to new mothers - and San Antonio-based agency, The Atkins Group is putting that feedback to good use.

Blithe Wiley, Atkins’ PR and social media specialist, reports great success with a recent “Mommy Blogger” event held to introduce Atkins’ account, New Life Shoes. (NLS) “They knew that moms-to-be like to share information with other moms-to-be…and NLS wanted networking to be a key feature of their rollout strategy for this product,” explains Wiley.

“So, we invited a select group of influential San Antonio Mommy Bloggers to spend a morning at the Castle Rock Spa at the Westin La Cantera to learn about the shoes, to ‘test drive’ them and provide feedback to the New Life management and design team,” she adds.

Wiley says that along with a brief presentation from Mark Connors, NLS President, and Beth Allen, NLS management team member and OB-GYN nurse, the bloggers asked questions about the shoes’ design and health benefits to pregnant women. The bloggers then got to try on the athletic shoes and see design sketches for additional styles being planned.

She adds that in addition to the social media effort, The Atkins Group will be launching paid media and public relations campaigns for New Life Shoes in 11 other key U.S. markets (based on birth rates) later this spring.